The "Didja' Ever Want To Be a
FIREMAN?" paper is divided into five sections, each
examining a different question as to how, what, why,
which, and when children dream to become
firefighters.

Nearly 150 pages in length, and containing hundreds of
photographs and first person quotes, it is not practical
to reprint the entire paper here on the Internet at this
time. However, you are welcome to read the section
overviews below and then download
a "pdf" version of the
complete Didja paper for your own personal use and
enjoyment.

SECTION I: How a childhood dream was
born

Preface

Chapter 1: Once every eighteen secondsFires and fire fighting in modern American
life

Chapter 2: And the firemen are a great
institutionFires and fire fighting in 19h Century American
life

Every eighteen seconds a
fire department responds to a fire somewhere in the United
States. By 1998 statistics, there are over 31,114 fire
departments in the U.S. and over one million firefighters --
the vast majority (80%) being volunteers. Firefighters are
an important part of American culture. Their heroics adorn
the covers of newspapers, magazines, and the nightly
television news. Their exploits have been lampooned in
political cartoons and comic books. Their image has been
used to sell gasoline, foods and beverages, medicines, and
nearly ever conceivable consumer product. The fire service
has been the topic of countless films, radio and television
programs, and popular books. In short, firefighters have
become an important part of popular culture, and they often
serve as an icon of American independence, initiative,
pluck, and spirit.

Given this climate, it is easy to see how being a
firefighter became a popular childhood aspiration.

SECTION II: What roles children have
played in fighting fires

Chapter 3: Interested to the
full every boy in townChildren fighting fires and working with
firefighters

Chapter 4: Heroes and heroines in-waitingChildren playing and role-playing

Edward Everett Hale stated
in his 1915 essay, A New England Boyhood, "I need
hardly say that the old method [of firefighting]
interested to the full every boy in town. If his
father and mother would let him, he attended the fire, where
he could at least scream 'Fire!' if he could not do anything
else."

This section takes a historical overview of the various
roles and relationships between children and firefighters.
From the earliest days of firefighting when children
actively participated in bucket brigades, and as fire
company aids, torch boys, and runners, to their more
ceremonial roles of "mascots." When the options for active
participation in firefighting duties diminished in the
twentieth century, toy companies began producing a host of
toy fire engines, pedal cars, and firefighter costumes that
enabled children to continue their roles in fighting fires,
if only in their imaginations.

SECTION III: Why children want to be
firefighters

Chapter 5: The excitement of it
allChapter 6: Those guys must be heroesHeroism, hero-worship, and role models

Chapter 7: A Fire Laddie Just Like My DaddyChildren wanting to emulate mom, dad, and other family
members

Chapter 8: All stations, all ages, a nation of
joinersChildren wanting affiliation and participation

So -- Why do children want to be firefighters? In 1998,
an unscientific questionnaire was developed to gather
primary-source data for this project. Over the next four
years, the "Didja' Ever Want To Be a FIREMAN?" survey was
distributed to family, friends, colleagues, and via the
World Wide Web. Two hundred and nineteen replies were
received from forty-one states and four foreign countries.
The vast majority of respondents, (164 versus 55), stated
"yes" to having some childhood desire to be a firefighter.
While the survey was conducted with an unscientific sample
group, (more replies were received from firefighters than
non-firefighters), the numbers are supported with abundant
secondary evidence. Indeed, even those who denied having any
such aspirations themselves, stated, "yes!" they believed
most kids do want to be firefighters at some point in their
lives.

The nine survey questions asked about childhood
recollections and experiences with firefighters, and probed
for the underlying reasons why children aspire to be
firefighters. The replies were as telling and varied as the
individuals providing them, but four primary reasons
emerged: Because of the excitement, the profession's heroics
and hero-worship, family connections, or for the group
affiliation and camaraderie.

SECTION IV: Who wants to be a
firefighter

Chapter 9: A universal
dream?Which children want to be firefighters

Chapter 10: Yes, I wanted to be a fireman -- that's
why I didn't become oneGirls aspiring to be firefighters

It's easy to generalize by
saying, "All kids want to be firefighters at some point in
their lives," yet until recently, for many children that
dream has been unrealistic. Traditionally, fighting fires
has been a dirty, dangerous, low paying, blue-collar, civil
service job. It was for men with strong backs, weak minds,
and "with arms as big as anvils." Although european-ethnic
immigrants filled the the ranks of the firehouses for most
of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the allure of
fighting fires was strong. Several well-known women were
fire company "mascots" in Victorian-era California.

The various social-equality movements which arose in the
1960s and 70s, helped prove that anyone, male or female,
Black or White, can not only dream to be a firefighter -
they can actually BECOME one!

SECTION V: When children grow up

Chapter 11: Childhood dreams and
defining moments

A long photograph from Marlborough New York dated "30 May
1929," shows a large group of children, all wearing matching
toy fire helmets, sitting on top of a fire engine before a
memorial day parade. They are holding a banner that reads,
"Next Generation - 1935 - Active Service." The implication
is clear, in six years these children will become the "next
generation" of active firefighters. The American fire
service is a unique institution. It was founded on the
concept of community service and volunteerism. While
children played important roles with the volunteer
firefighters of the nineteenth century, it is the volunteer
fire departments of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries
that are providing opportunities for many to live out their
dreams. Robert P. Smith, a volunteer firefighter who dreamed
of fighting fires as a child writes, "Obstacles such as
diplomas and licenses usually stand between grownups and the
fulfillment of their childhood dreams. The real world seldom
accepts a kid's fantasy as an adult's credentials. But fire
departments do, at least the majority that rely on the
million-plus men and women who volunteer their
services."

For many the childhood dream to be a firefighter remains
just that, a dream. As adults the "little kid inside" may
still get excited at the sound of the siren, yet for the
majority this excitement is stifled by the realities and
responsibilities of daily life. For others however, the
allure of the dream is too strong.